Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Xavier, Jaime, his wife Loli and I walked down the dirt road, and if we hadn't been told,
we would not have guessed that the nearby hill had been an archeologist's treasure chest.
We climbed the pyramid, searched for telltale signs of supporting walls, which were not
easy to find. When we stood on top, we could see that there was a second pyramid not far
away.
We returned to our cars and headed for the Yanga Monument. The monument was a simple
pedestal with a bronze statute sculptured by Erasmo Vázquez Lendechy of a defiant Yanga
holding a stalk of sugar cane in his left hand, which had broken the chain of slavery. Raised
in his right hand, the machete once used to cut the cane was now his sword of freedom.
It was hot and humid. A dog rested quietly near my car, panting, his eyes and tail moved.
Xavier's white shirt showed patches of sweat. We were drained. “Let me buy the refresh-
ments,” I offered. Xavier drove back towards town, and then pulled over at a roadside
stand with a thatched palm roof. Gravel crunched under the tires as he stopped. The glass-
fronted refrigerator was stocked with sodas. I grabbed a twelve-ounce can of Delaware
Punch, a noncarbonated grape drink, easy to find in Mexico, hard to find in the U.S.
Xavier reached into the upright refrigerator and grabbed a two and one-half-liter (eighty-
five ounces) plastic bottle of Sprite. I drank the Delaware Punch and Xavier put away the
entire bottle of Sprite, which equaled seven cans of Delaware Punch. I was astonished. It
was fitting. It had been an amazing day.
Expenses: Bus $14, taxis $22, meals $28, mariachis $100, Hotel Bello $41. Total: $185.
